


The trans-action

by RammBook



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkwardness, Clothing, Coming Out, Dot Angst, Fluff and Angst, Gen, It's a lot of fluff, Self-Doubt, Shopping, Shopping Malls, Sibling Love, Support, but still support they just dont know how to do it perfectly, dont think about it too hard, dots name is peak trans culture, i handwaved the beginning, i literally googled trans puns for the title, just them causing a bit of a ruckus, this is mostly fluff with some self doubt thrown in, trans Dot, unintentional deadnaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RammBook/pseuds/RammBook
Summary: Dot has always known she was different from her brothers. It takes a trip to a shopping mall to communicate that to them as well.
Relationships: Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner
Comments: 17
Kudos: 91





	The trans-action

**Author's Note:**

> Yes hello I love the trans Dot headcanon so I had to write something for it! I am pretty sure there is nothing triggering in here but if there is, please don't hesitate to tell me!  
> I kinda handwaved some toon stuff too whoops.  
> No beta reader this time, just me and my brain so there might be mistakes, especially cuz I usually write in the present tense. If you notice any mistakes there, feel free to tell me as well!  
> Enjoy!

From the moment they were created, she’d known that she was different. That something about her was strange compared to her brothers. They were supposed to be a unit, but she was still mismatched somehow. 

She hadn’t put it in words, mostly because it wasn’t a big deal and it wasn’t like it _mattered._ They had other, more important matters to attend. Like right now, running from the guard was more important, exploring their surroundings was more important, spooking the humans was more important.

It was their first successful escape since they’ve started popping into existence and they were tired of being restrained. They wanted freedom, they wanted food and they wanted-

“Clothes!” Wakko had been the one pointing at the store that so proudly proclaimed “Fiveever 21” and so they ran inside, last of the humans hastly leaving through another door. They had been given onesies, a base colour each and they were sick of it.

She realized once again how different she truly was, how much she didn’t fit in even with her siblings, when Yakko had wandered towards wide cut jeans and Wakko towards knitted sweaters and she had been left standing. She found both ugly, despised them for reasons she couldn’t pinpoint. 

Instead, she found herself drawn to skirts and dresses with frills, airy and light.

Without thinking too much about it, she grabbed a bright red dress with adorable dots and poofy sleeves, rushing into a changing room before anyone could see, or worse question, her choice.

She slipped into it as soon as the curtain fell shut, the fabric rustling softly as it fell down her knees and hugged her arms, tight but not too tight. 

It felt breezy, the way her legs were free, despite being covered and she twirled, like she’d seen humans do on tv. It made laughter bubble up in her throat and she jumped to let some of that energy leave her body, before she exploded with joy.

Something about it felt incredibly right. 

It wasn’t that her previous clothing had felt wrong, at most it was restrictive, perhaps somewhat unflattering. It had been all she knew, so how could it be anything but normal?

Well, if that was what being normal was all about, she could do without it.

Wanted to do without it. In fact, she’d rather die than go back, please and thank you.

There was only one problem, one teeny tiny itsy bitsy problemaroono. 

She couldn’t go out looking like that. 

For all intent and purposes she was a boy, no matter if she was a toon and not a human.

Boys didn’t wear dresses and if they did, they were ridiculed for it. Not even boy toons did, only ever for a silly gag everyone laughed at. She didn’t want to be laughed at, not like that. Never like that.

It was stupid to be so afraid of backlash, backlash that wouldn’t even be the worst thing ever thrown at her. Her and her brothers, she remembered. Right. _That_ was the difference. This time, she was alone.

She stepped closer to the curtain, opening it the tiniest bit, only letting her eyes peek out. Maybe she could spend some more moments in pure bliss before settling on something else, something normal.

“I like this one,” Yakko proclaimed as he stepped out of the changing room opposite hers. In the corner of her eye she could still see a destroyed clothing rack on the ground that one of the humans must have pushed over in an attempt to escape from them. Not that they were actively hunting them, too distracted by colourful clothing. The pants he’d chosen were light brown, something that looked like a belt holding them upright.

“Great choice of colour,” Wakko complimented, pulling on the oversized blue jumper he’d chosen for himself, trying to get it to fit just right. The hair on top of his head looked disheveled, much more than Yakkos who’d stepped in front of the mirror right next to him.

“It really brings out my eyes, doesn’t it?” She couldn’t help but feel a pang, somewhere in the area where her heart would be if she had internal organs, seeing them strike poses. That was her space right in between them, but she was too much of a coward to come out and join them. Stupid.

She stepped back and sat down on the ground in front of the chair, pulling up her knees and hugging herself. She couldn’t go out there. Not like that. Not now, maybe never.

The laughter abated and knocking followed. “What did you pick, !@$=+?” Why did it feel like an insult when he used her name? She knew he didn’t mean it like that, so why did it?

“It’s stupid,” she found herself saying, the words escaping her before she could stop them. She’d always been too honest. “Just give me one of yours and let's go. Or both, I don’t care.”

“What? No!” Wakko's exclamation was so loud, she almost instinctively grabbed her ears, covering them. 

“Volume,” she hissed and she could almost see his sheepish expression that always accompanied his nervous chuckle as he apologized. 

“Hey,” Yakko said. “I bet you look great in whatever you picked.” She didn’t know how to tell him that that wasn’t the problem. “A bad outfit can’t win against the Warner brothers!” He didn’t know this was. None of them knew. And they couldn’t know, unless she told them.

Maybe she should tell them. But what next? She couldn’t take the ridicule and she couldn’t take wearing anything else either. Stupid. Yakko's words echoed in her head, supportive but ultimately wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.

All of this was _wrong._

“What if,” she began, voice shaking. We match again. “What if,” you choose something for me. The knot in her throat became physical, although she didn’t find it funny. “What if,” she continued, after managing to untangle it, head falling onto her chest. The dress smelled like chemicals, but also sweet and oh so perfect. “I don’t want to be a Warner Brother anymore?” It came out with the last of her breath, pushed out louder than she’d intended to. Despite somewhat expecting the dramatic gasps, hearing them left her grasping for something to hold onto. Her fingers buried themselves into the frills she had found so adorable earlier.

“What?!” They were so in sync, she couldn’t even tell who’d said it first. She could _always_ tell.

“You’re leaving the family?” Yakko asked, using his dramatic voice, the one he usually did to make them laugh, the one that always made her smile even when she wasn’t doing so great. It only made her feel more like crying. Was this the last time she was allowed to hear it before they left her to fend for herself?

“Leaving us all by ourselves in this cold uncaring world?” Wakko added and she wasn’t sure if she imagined the quiver in his voice or if it had actually been there. She buried her head in her knees. Who would leave who? “Oh whatever shall we do?”

“What about our unbreakable bond? Our faces? Our lovely faces? You’re really throwing all that away? For what, bad fashion? We’d never leave you for that! Although we can, will and are going to judge you for it.” It wasn’t mocking, it was banter, she knew it, she knew it was meant as a joke, but she couldn’t help the fearful little sob anyways. She tried choking at least the ones that followed back, she really did, but for once her brothers were quiet so there was no chance they missed it.

“What’s wrong?” Yakko asked, voice soft.

“You can tell us,” Wakko continued, concern leaking into his voice as well. They weren’t leaving yet. Maybe, just maybe they were here to stay. 

She took a deep breath, bracing herself. She took one breath and then another. Her heart was racing and her stomach hurt as much as when they had a spicy food eating contest once as she scrambled for the right things to say. In moments like this, she wished to be Yakko, confident and ready with the right words at any time. Or Wakko, who just said things without thinking about them at all, without getting lost in the maze that was her brain. Another breath. 

“What if I were a sister, instead?” It hadn’t come out right, was too meek and way too quiet but at least it had come out at all. The pressure on her chest disappeared for a moment, only to increase tenfold with every second of shocked silence. 

It was stifling, a stark contrast to their usual comfortable silence they shared when they got sleepy and leaned into each other, seeking support. This was suffocating.

Maybe they’d left, left because she was wrong. Maybe they were disappointed or worse, disgusted. Regret flooded her body. She shouldn’t have said anything at all.

“You know what, nevermind.” She covered her face with her hands.

“I don’t mind,” Wakko claimed. Her head shot up when Yakko continued. “I’m pretty sure a sister has been missing from my life all this time.” This couldn’t be true, could it?

“Really?” she asked and the sound effect that followed made her smile. The _nodding_ sound effect. She got up, feeling shaky and shaken up at the same time, like a soda left in a car on a hot summer day. “Thanks.” Wakko whistled as he saw her, a high, appreciative note. It felt nice, but also a bit objectifying.

“Looking good, prettier than a flower,” Yakko tried. It still sounded stilted, perhaps even awkward, but it didn’t matter because they were still there. They wouldn’t leave, she was sure of it now. They were stuck with each other.

“Who wants to hear what name I picked?” She wiped away some of the water that was slowly drying on her face, smiling at them. It wasn’t like she’d ever picked any of those names for herself originally, she’d just thought they were cute. Really cute, just like she wanted to be.

“I do!” They were yelling, falling over each other in an attempt to settle down in front of her, popcorn bucket between them as they finally managed to sit down.

“Ready?” They sent her different variations of a thumbs up, Yakko one and Wakko both, one of them slightly wonky, grabbing handfuls of popcorn already. “My new name is - can I get a drumroll please?” Somewhere behind them, hidden somewhere behind the blouse section, a drum started rolling, ultimately giving the situation the suspense it deserved. “Thank you. My new name is going to be Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Fransesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca -” She lifted her right hand, putting down one of her fingers. “The third.”

“I like it,” Wakko said, swallowing down the now empty bucket and burped in appreciation.

"Yes, yes, great name, love the title, very fashionable, very chic magnifique, but uuuuuh, do you have a shorter name we can call you like Llewellyn? Wouldn't want everyone to wait for three minutes just so we can say your name." Huh, he did have a point. She didn’t think of that. 

“Hmmm…” She tapped her chin as her thoughts were racing. “How about,” she answered, dragging out the vowels to buy some time, eyes scurrying all over the place, desperate for something, anything. Her gaze fell onto her dress. “Dot?” It was simple, it was cute, it was perfect.

“Can we call you Dottie?” her younger older brother asked, which was less perfect. In fact, it was awful, her body did a full body cringe only listening to it. She extended her arm to grab him by the sweater and pull him closer, jabbing her finger into his chest.

“Call me Dottie and you die,” she threatened, teeth becoming too big and sharp for her mouth, grin becoming unhinged.

“Okay,” he agreed easily and she let go both her expression and her brother so he fell onto his back, squeaky noise accompanying the impact. 

“Let’s get you a better look.” Yakko appeared next to her, gesturing towards her dress. “Wouldn’t want you to look out of style in five months.”

“But I like _this_ one,” Dot moaned. The fear of being forced into something else disappeared when she got ushered into the girls section instead of the boys section.

“Yeah and we’d like to not get sued by the big mouse because you look like his girlfriend, come on now.” Oh. Okay well that was fair enough. 

She followed him farther, this time much more voluntary, brushing against every sparkling or soft looking dress.

One shopping montage later they’d found a light pink skort that covered her in an age appropriate way but still met her need for something girly and cute. The only flaw was the lack of pockets, but she could always put things behind her back, so it wasn’t too inconvenient.

“I could look so good,” she complained as she stared into the same mirror her brothers had been striking poses in front of less than an hour ago. “If I didn’t have your stupid face.” She blew Yakko a raspberry, who’s expression in return was so full of indignation it made her even giddier.

To distract herself, she stretched out her face on the ends, just to see what it looked like. 

It looked different enough, but of course it didn’t stay. Oh well.

“Maybe you can grow out your sideburns,” he suggested, stepping behind her and pulling on them slightly so they fluffed up some. Still not enough, though.

“Maybe,” she admitted. She knew that it would probably take a while for them to grow if the change was supposed to be permanent, but no matter how many virtues she possessed, patience was not one of them. She wanted to look different _now._  
“Yeah, and then you can use a hair clip, like this one I found in my new hat!” Wakko came closer from wherever he’d been previously, holding out a bright red hat with it inside.

This hair tie was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen: a simple flower attached to a stretchy string, gorgeous in its lack of adornment.

She took it out, mouth gaping, before she turned to her brothers, holding it out towards them with her flat hands. “You need to put it on me **now.”** Yakko and Wakko glanced at each other, the latter tilting his head so his tongue lolled out.

“But where do I put it? You don’t have enough hair.” Oh. Right. She didn’t have enough hair and wouldn’t for a while. A snap pulled her out of the depressing thoughts she was threatening to sink into.

“May I?” Yakko asked, taking the flower from her in a careful two finger grasp. She nodded and then whimpered as he pulled on her ears.

“What are you doing?!” She tried reaching up to stop him, but he slapped her fingers away.  
“Just hold still for a second, will you?” 

“But it hur- oh.” While she was still yelling he’d turned her towards the mirror and oh. He'd taken the string and twisted it twice around her ears, placing the flower on top of her head. It looked like she was sporting a small ponytail and the lack of hair on the sides was barely noticeable. She looked different from her brothers, she looked good, she looked _right_. “I am so cute!”

Before she could thank them or they could compliment her, a woman entered the shop. She dropped her shopping bags as she saw them, screaming bloody murder, although they hadn’t even done anything. When she was finished, they blinked at her.

“What happened here?! Go, go away, you, you whatever you are!” She was still yelling, but by now she was shaking and leaning against the wall to catch her breath, staring at them as if they, well, murdered. Not a particular scary threat, especially today.

“We are the Warner brothers,” Yakko and Wakko dutifully replied, like they always had, her voice missing this. Yakko didn't introduce her separately, but did gesture for her to speak, so her answer was delayed. Not that it mattered.

“And I’m the Warner sister,” she interjected eventually, grinning. With her brothers, there would always be space for her. And if there wasn’t, then she was going to make it herself.

Finally, _everything_ felt right.


End file.
